Project Integrate Series Boxed Set

by Campbell, Jamie

  When we approached my locker, I wanted to turn in the opposite direction. But I needed books so I had to go there. Lola left me to go to her class, leaving me to deal with Lochie on my own. That was probably a good thing, considering I hadn’t explained to her what had happened the day before.

  “I need to get into my locker. Move,” I said impolitely. Whatever he wanted, I didn’t care. He had the sense to move aside so I could get in.

  “I’ve got some bad news,” Lochie said solemnly. My stomach churned into knots.

  “What is it?”

  “I may have deleted our entire project before I took a backup or printed it out.”

  My anger meter instantly went off the charts. “Are you serious?” I started hitting him with my book. It wasn’t hard though, I would have been much more forceful if I didn’t remember the rules. “How can you be so stupid? Why did I even trust you with it?”

  He grabbed my book mid-strike, holding it between us. There was no way I was going to let go of it.

  His face beamed with a wide grin. “I’m joking. It’s all ready to submit.”

  Now I wanted to hit him even harder for joking about something like that. “I hate you.”

  He leaned down, getting right into my face. “I don’t hate you.”

  “Give it time,” I seethed.

  “Oh, look how cute they are together,” Melody, one of the most annoyingly popular girls in our grade said as she stopped beside us. I instantly took a step back from Lochie. “When I heard the rumors about you two, I barely believed them. But now I can see it with my own eyes, it’s so cute.”

  “We are not together,” I said, vehemently denying it. Rumors? There were seriously rumors about us? I highly doubted that, especially considering we never did anything besides argue the few moments we spent together.

  Melody cocked her head to one side. “So I didn’t see you sharing a cozy meal together at Chez Seafood on Sunday?”

  Oh, there was that. “That was just lunch.” I looked at Lochie, waiting for him to chime in and deny it too. He just had that stupid grin on his face.

  “A cozy lunch,” Melody said before leaning in closer to me. “Be careful of this one, he’s a player. You are too nice to get your heart broken into a thousand tiny pieces.”

  “We’re not together.”

  “Sure you aren’t.”

  I looked at Lochie. “Are you going to say anything?”

  He shook his head, putting his arms in the air like he was giving up. “I can’t help it if you have feelings for me. I can’t control women falling in love with me.”

  “Told you,” Melody shrugged before leaving us. I shot Lochie one more look that screamed I was going to kill him, grabbed my books and stormed off to class. To even imply I had feelings for him was ridiculous. And apparently now we were a topic of other people’s conversations. If my parents or the Department ever found out, I was going to be mincemeat.

  I tried to put all my focus into the History class and forget about everything else. I concentrated so hard I finished my questions before the end of class. Looking around at the others, everyone was still crouched over their papers, writing furiously. Except a few staring into space, hoping an answer would materialize out of thin air.

  My gaze wandered outside through the window. Drew and Frank were standing across the lawn. To everyone else they would have just looked like two ordinary citizens having a conversation. However, to the trained eye, I could tell they were constantly checking the area as they talked. They looked to be having fun, perhaps even joking together.

  Perhaps the security threat was starting to die down? Maybe the aliens that had been killed were just a coincidence? People died every day. Statistically speaking, surely some of the project participants had to succumb at some stage too? The Department overreacted to everything, it was their usual thing to take it all too seriously.

  My phone buzzed with a text message. I discreetly checked the teacher wasn’t paying me any attention before looking at the phone.

  The message was from Rob, he wanted to meet me outside immediately. That few seconds I had where I thought everything was going to be fine quickly vanished into thin air. I put my hand up, waving it around until I got Mr. Murray’s attention.

  “May I please go to the bathroom?”

  “Can’t you wait?” He asked, rather grumpily considering I was only asking to be excused for a bodily function of necessity.

  “No.”

  “Fine.” It was like pulling teeth. I left my completed quiz on his desk on my way out and ran through the corridors. A bathroom break wouldn’t have been very long, I hoped Mr. Murray wasn’t going to count the minutes.

  I hurried outside and to the parking lot, our usual meeting place. Rob had only visited me on a handful of occasions but it was always in his car. His black SUV had dark tinted windows, it gave us full privacy from any prying eyes.

  I nodded to Drew and Frank as I climbed into the back seat. Rob was alone, sitting in the driver’s spot. He had to turn around to speak with me. “How’s things, Amery?”

  “Good, I hope.” My anxiety levels were through the roof at him showing up announced. He didn’t risk my exposure like that for nothing.

  “Do you feel safe with your security detail?”

  “Yeah, they’re great.”

  “You know your safety is paramount to the project,” he said, too calm and collected for my liking. When Rob was worried about something, he always got ultra calm. He would have been fantastic at playing poker.

  “I know. Has something happened?” I asked, hoping desperately I was just being stupid. With the security increased, perhaps he was just checking in on me? It was possible.

  “We’ve lost another one, soda pop,” Rob blurted out. Using my nickname didn’t soften the blow any. I guess I did ask. “She was in Mississippi with her family when it happened. She was shot through the back and immobilized. They then finished her off with a blow to the head.”

  I didn’t need so much detail. He could have just said she was shot and my curiosity would have been satisfied. “Were her parents injured?”

  “They got away. It seems whoever is behind it all are only interested in taking out the participants, not those protecting them.” That was a relief. At least if anything happened to me, my parents would be okay. As long as they didn’t do something stupid and take the bullet for me, anyway. That was something they were dumb enough to do. “I’m very concerned for your safety, Amery. I think you should go into hiding.”

  “I can’t. Going into hiding will ruin the whole project.” I didn’t waste seventeen years being different just to hide at the end and not see it through. “I’m not doing it. I’ll either win or die trying.”

  Rob sighed, probably expecting that answer. He knew me well, that’s why we made a good partnership. He was quiet for a long time, so long it started to worry me.

  “Rob, what aren’t you telling me?” I asked, fearing there had to be more bad news coming my way. He was probably working out how to tell me.

  “There’s discussions about ending the project, calling it off completely.” Rob wouldn’t look at me. I wondered how far these discussions had gone already.

  “You can’t do that. What will happen to the people of Trucon? They won’t have anywhere to go. We can’t just abandon them when they don’t have any other option.”

  “I know this is disappointing, but your people are resourceful, they’ll find another way. You will be able to stay on Earth for as long as you like. Nobody will ever have to know.” He looked at me sympathetically. I wasn’t buying it though. Somewhere out in space, my birth parents were relying on me. I couldn’t let them down because it was suddenly too hard. There was no way that was going to happen.

  “I’m not giving up,” I declared resolutely. “We have to keep going and I’m sure everyone else in the project will agree. If the Department won’t help us, then we’ll do it on our own.” I knew the second those words were out of my mout
h I shouldn’t have said them. You didn’t threaten a government department with outing yourself as an alien. People who thought they could tend to end up dead before they got the chance. Unfortunately, there was no way to recall them.

  “You are bound by the rules of the project, you know that Amery,” Rob said sternly. “It’s our way or no way. You know that like everyone else does, soda pop.”

  “It’s just frustrating,” I continued in a whiny voice. “We can’t let some guys in suits try to stop us from seeing the project through. There have been things in the past and nobody ever talked about calling the whole thing off.”

  “The organization that is trying to kill you is serious, unlike all the other conspiracy theorists who were just grasping at straws and hoping one of them was real. The threats to your life are very real, Amery. We can’t take them lightly.”

  “If you know who these guys are, why can’t you stop them then?” I asked, wishing the entire conversation could be over – with me getting my way. I didn’t see the point in even talking about ending the project, it was ridiculous.

  “Because they know how to cover their tracks,” Rob explained. “They are so well organized that we can’t touch them. We don’t know who they are or where they come from.” That was concerning, considering the Department’s powers were wide and far reaching. If they didn’t know who they were, then they didn’t exist. That’s how it normally went.

  “I’ve got to get back to class,” I finally said, giving up. “I am begging you not to end the project. Please, Rob, promise me you’ll do everything you can to keep it going. We can’t give up now.”

  “I’ll do what I can, but I’m not making any promises.”

  “Just try, that’s all I’m asking.”

  He nodded and I slipped out of the car. I ran back to the school and to class again. Mr. Murray gave me a weird look but I ignored it. Who was he to judge how long a bathroom break should be? If he asked about it after class, I would just plead female troubles. That always shut people up.

  I didn’t have to though. Mr. Murray dismissed us with the bell and we all hurried out to our next class. I walked with Casey, one of the girls I knew from the yearbook committee, seeing as though Lola was nowhere to be seen. I desperately wanted to vent to her about my conversation with Rob but I guessed it would have to wait. At least I had someone to vent to now besides my parents. They always tended to side with the Department.

  “Have you finished the interviews with the football and basketball teams yet?” Casey asked as we travelled through the corridors. For a moment, I had no idea what she was talking about. Then it hit me like a brick to the temple. I was supposed to be interviewing the teams for the yearbook, along with taking their photographs.

  “I’m going to start them this afternoon,” I replied, wanting to cringe. There was a deadline on our tasks and I was sure that one was coming up faster than I wanted it to. Today was not my day for good news.

  “You haven’t even started it yet?” She said incredulously, like the world depended on it. I guess in the yearbook world, it kind of did. “Sarah isn’t going to be happy if she has to put the printers off while she waits.”

  “It’s all good, I’ll meet the deadline. She doesn’t have to know about it, I wouldn’t want to stress her anymore than she probably already is.”

  Casey shrugged, hopefully that meant she would keep her mouth shut. We reached our next class and took a seat. I made sure I wasn’t in Casey’s view, otherwise I would be seeing her disappointing looks at me all class. I couldn’t handle that.

  I did my best to focus on the lesson instead of my conversation with Rob. It felt like the dark clouds were looming over my head and I didn’t know how to get rid of them. Surely they couldn’t call the entire project off? Seventeen years of hiding and pretending I was something else, all just to walk away from it? The future of my planet was at stake, real people that would die if they didn’t come down to Earth. It was too scary to think about.

  I looked around the classroom, hoping to see Lola. She took Biology with me but was nowhere to be seen. She wasn’t normally one for skipping class, she was too afraid of her parents if they ever found out.

  The only thing I could think of was that perhaps she was with Asher somewhere. He probably wasn’t the best influence on her. He had a reputation for being flippant about class, much preferring to spend time rehearsing with the band. For all the classes he skipped, the band really should have been better than they were.

  Hopefully I would see her at lunch and get all the juicy details. I focused on the task at hand and listened to the teacher. It was difficult to focus but I managed to make it through class without making a fool of myself.

  I spent all lunchtime trying to find Lola. I searched everywhere, asking everyone I came across where she was. I even asked Havi and that was awkward to say the least. But I was that desperate. Nobody had seen Lola.

  I sent her a text message when she wouldn’t answer her phone. Coincidently, I didn’t see Asher in my search either. I bet if I found one, I would definitely find the other. I hated to think what they were up to.

  I pondered it for the rest of the day, checking my phone obsessively for a new message. None came. I knew I shouldn’t worry but I couldn’t help it. With everything else going on, I was on edge and I knew it.

  Yet instead of going home when the final bell rang, I headed for the gymnasium. I had to interview every single one of the basketball team. The football team could wait for tomorrow.

  CHAPTER 14

  I sat down with each of the basketball team in turn. They were more than happy to tell me about their plans for the future. I had a set question list which soon grew boring. I wanted to go off the plan but fear brought me back again. If Sarah didn’t get enough material for the yearbook, she would literally skin me alive. She had it in her.

  “What are your plans for next year?” I asked, ticking off the questions one by one. At least they had only heard them once so were enthusiastic about answering. They didn’t know I had heard the same answer a dozen times already – even the lame jokes that some of them gave me.

  “I have a scholarship to Tech U,” the basketballer replied. His number was twenty-three, I was slowly getting up to the last digits.

  “So who is most likely to succeed in the team?”

  “Easy, Lochie Mercury.”

  Ugh. “Why?”

  “He’s got the drive and talent to do whatever he wants.”

  “Where do you think you’ll be in ten years?”

  “President. Or the inventor of something cool. I haven’t decided which one yet.”

  I faked a smile. At least eight of them told me they wanted to be the president. It was going to be a tough election race in ten years time. “Thank you for your time. Can you send in the next one on your way out?”

  “Sure, thanks.” He stood and left. I checked the video camera to make sure it still had battery. Sarah was planning on uploading some clips to the Slam before graduation. Apparently we were making memories. I didn’t like to say that my revelation would probably eclipse anything else that happened during senior year.

  “Jones, you wanted me?” Lochie said as he took his seat. He was his usual slimy self.

  “I have to interview you,” I shot back. There was no way I wanted him, not in the way he was implying anyway. “Can we just get through these questions, please?”

  He proceeded to preen himself for the camera. “Make sure you get my good side.”

  “Do you have a good side?”

  He looked at me and just laughed. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh too. “Question one, what’s your best memory of senior year?”

  “It’s still to happen. You, me, prom.” He raised one eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes.

  “Let me repeat, what’s your best memory of senior year so far?”

  He shuffled in his seat, like it was a genuine mistake. We both knew it wasn�
��t. “Oh, so far, that changes everything. I think winning the regional championships. It was two seconds to the buzzer and I had the ball. What do I do? I’m standing at the mid section and just throw, thinking what’s the worst that could happen? The ball goes in, we win the game, the crowds go wild chanting my name.”

  “You were already up by six points.”

  “Shh, nobody else has to remember that.”

  “And they didn’t chant your name. I was there,” I said skeptically. Apparently history was made up by those with big egos. “I’m going to put down the regional championships as your answer.”

  “Freedom of speech is a right, Amery, do I need to remind you of that?” My God he was full of himself that afternoon. It took every piece of concentration to focus on the task at hand and not get sidetracked.

  “What are your plans for next year?”

  “Are you asking out of curiosity? Because I’m open for suggestions. Or ideas. Or partners in crime.”

  “It’s on my question sheet.”

  “Fine. I’m going to college.”

  “So who is most likely to succeed in the team?”

  “I think you’re most likely to succeed.”

  “I’m not in the team,” I pointed out. I checked my watch pointedly, hoping he noticed. At the rate we were going, I wasn’t going to get out of there before dark. Drew and Frank would probably go nuts outside.

  Lochie genuinely looked like he had made a mistake that time, like he had heard me wrong. I think I even saw a hint of a blush fly across his cheeks. “Oh, Devon. He’s got the right attitude to handle anything that is thrown at him.”

  “Where do you think you’ll be in ten years?” I cringed, waiting for a smart aleck remark. Surely Lochie didn’t want to be the president too? I couldn’t get that lucky.

  “I’d like to own my own business and have a loving family,” he replied sincerely, it wasn’t what I was expecting. “I want to make enough money to be comfortable and look after those around me.”